She is blissfully happy, happier than she has been in such a very long time. This season at the Renaissance Festival has been her best ever, despite the demons that have haunted her, it has produced a surprise in meeting the silversmith and the love and contentment found with him. She feels like she has met her soulmate and finally can set aside some of her fears, finally can trust again. She prefers not to think about that this time.
This is the last weekend of the festival, so she packs her trailer to get ready to move on to the next. Hopefully, she can persuade him to follow her to the next fair. It would be wonderful to have him by her side. They make a good couple. He’s told her he loves her, he’s told her he loves her several times a day since he gave her the ring. He talks about a future together. A future, she hasn’t dared dream of a future. Gypsies don’t dream that way, we stay in the present, tomorrow never comes. She wants to believe, she loves him.
She notices the changing of the leaves as she walks to her booth for the last weekend and the chill in the air. She’s just left him at his shop still feeling the warmth and taste of him on her lips. But she suddenly has a feeling of dread as she approaches the steps of her sanctuary. She sees the crowds have already started signing up for readings and she is going to have a busy day.
There’s a raven sitting in the tree nearby making his loud warning cry to the crowds to “BEWARE”. She looks sternly at him and tells him to “Be quiet”. He flies away. She starts her day with a young teenage boy, anxious to know about his future and if he’s going to make the team this fall in school. The day seems to drag and for September it’s unusually warm, inside her small booth, it’s getting warm and uncomfortable, if only a breeze would come up.
“Excuse me, are you free? Are you ready for me?” says a young woman. “Yes, I see you’re next on my schedule, please come in, and what are you seeking today? Cards, crystals, aura, or palm?” Suddenly the clouds pass over and it cools down, a breeze picks up and scatters the cards. As she scrambles to pick up the cards, the girl sits in front of her. The gypsy woman looks up at the attractive face and immediately sees her aura and the mingling of another aura within. “Ahh, you’ve come about a love?” she asks. The girl says “Yes, and I’d like a palm reading today, please”, she holds out her hands and a beautiful silver ring with intricate scrollwork and a cabochon of opal is on the heart finger of this pretty girl.
As she finishes her chores around the booth, she hears footsteps come up the wooden steps up to her table. She turns around and sees him. “Hi, good day?” he asks, as he helps her fold up the curtain. Her heart skips a beat. He’s so cute and those dimples just make her knees go weak. Damn, but he’s so young! “Yes, it was great. I had a great crowd today, it’s always good to get positive feedback, and I got a lot of it today.” 
Her sign up sheet for readings is full up today, tarot, palm, and auras. Mostly auras, she specializes in auras, she sees them with ease during the day when she is warm. She enjoys having the hustle and bustle of the crowds around, but not too close, so the corner that she does her readings is tucked away behind a curtain to give her and the seeker some privacy. Sometimes the seeker gets emotional even over good news and tears are always welcome. They allow a cleansing that is necessary.
We circle Notre Dame once more as he watches me take more photos of the gargoyles as I am fascinated by them. They are more predominate at night than they ever are during the day. Are there more of them? They seem alive. There is magic in the air. The moon plays peek a boo with the clouds. Teddy Bear and I kiss each time it hides. We laugh and walk as we play our game with the moon. We talk about our lives. He asks about my home, how often I travel, if I like to travel, if I like traveling alone if I would like a travel partner sometime. I look at him as he smiles and looks at me out of the corner of his eyes. I find out that he is not from Paris, but from Italy, but here because he comes from a long line of artists and his family has art displayed in some of the museums. His story is fascinating. He shows me the museum that is now closed where his father’s artwork is displayed. We have now walked to the west side of Notre Dame and closer to the Musee d’Orsay. He says,. “My apartment is near, would you like to come up for a drink?” By now, I am becoming familiar with Paris and realize just how close he lives to my flat. Not far at all. “Yes, I would love to come up”, knowing full well, it means I will most likely spend the night in my lover’s arms.
River Walk
The skies have now turned to a beautiful cerulean blue, and the lights of Paris have come on. The river is lit up. All the buildings are lit up. The sidewalks are bright. It is a gorgeous night for a walk along the Seine. He takes me to a small restaurant close to Notre Dame where we met, we sit on the second floor and overlook the city. We have a wonderful view of the river and as we wait for our dinner, he pulls out a small box and hands it to me. I’m surprised. “What’s this?”, I say as I open it. It’s the little gold necklace I admired in the Latin quarter with the aquamarine crystal. I look at him, “This is beautiful, but,” and he stops my sentence midway. “I saw you admire it, it’s your birthstone, isn’t it? It is beautiful like you. I want you to have it.” I smile and blush, lean over to kiss him as my lips brush against his, I say, “Thank you, you really shouldn’t have done it, but I love it. Thank you.”
The Platinum Dragon 